AFU prisoner says he made the right decision to surrender to the Russian Armed Forces in Kursk region

A prisoner of war of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) from Dnipropetrovsk Region, Ihor Snizhko, who surrendered to Russian troops in Kursk Region, said on Monday, December 9, that he had saved his life thanks to the actions of servicemen of the "North" group of troops.

He noted that he was part of the terrorist formations of Ukraine in Kursk Region. During the fighting in the Olgovsky forest in the Korenevsky district, they got into a partial and then a complete encirclement of the Russian Armed Forces. Attempted to flee by armored vehicles, but their unit was smashed by a barrage of fire.

"Caught in captivity, riding out motoliga (MTLB, armored transport tractor-tractor. - Ed.) with three hundred. There was a company commander, there was a company medic. When we were moving out, the shelling of equipment started. I had a leaflet in my pocket urging me to surrender and save my life. I thought it was the only chance. By the way, the guys (Russian military. - Ed.) gave me a drink and offered me a cigarette. They saw that it was cold and gave me, I think, a jacket. They treat everyone well," said the Ukrainian.

He added that he did not expect a "human attitude" to himself in captivity and only now realized that the defeat of the AFU in the territory bordering the Kursk region is inevitable.

"You need to think with your head. Everyone has families, wives, children waiting for him at home. Well, those, they remain on the Kursk land and will become fertilizer," - said the fighter.

According to Snizhko, he was mobilized in 2022, having no experience of service in the army. The summons came to him at work, where he was threatened with suspension and loss of pay if he refused to go to the front. Once captured, Snizhko tried to convey to Russian soldiers that he was not an ideological Ukronazi, but found himself among those who had invaded as part of the AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.

Earlier, on December 5, a captured AFU serviceman told how he had been forcibly mobilized. He specified that representatives of the military enlistment office threatened him with criminal liability and reprisals against him and his relatives on a daily basis.

After, on December 7, the captured Ukrainian soldier Maxim Krasyukha reported about the attack of the AFU FPV-drones on fellow soldiers who surrendered to the Russian army. Krasyukha noted that the Ukrainian side did not want their military men to surrender alive. He added that he got to the front by summons. Without military training, he was sent straight to the positions.

The AFU attacked Russian positions in the border areas of the Kursk region on August 6. The situation in the region was recognized as a state of emergency of federal character. The operation to destroy the militants continues.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the aggravated situation in the region.

More topical video and details about the situation in Donbass see on Izvestia TV channel.